Tiger's Masters return: Rory 'it's a wonderful thing'

Tiger Woods was once again the main topic of conversation at Augusta National on Tuesday as he confirmed he plans to make his long-awaited return to action at The Masters on Thursday.

The presence of the five-time champion has been welcomed by his fellow professionals, with some of them happy to see the spotlight turned on to the former world No 1.

Here's what some of the big names have had to say about the prospect of Woods competing alongside them once again this week…..

Rory McIlroy: "Tiger has been wonderful for us all in this room. He creates attention on the game of golf that no one else can. That's great for his peers. It's great for the media. It's great for this golf club. It's great for everyone. So, any time Tiger Woods is involved, it's a wonderful thing.

"I think in terms of the competitive nature of it, if he's in the field or not, I don't think it really changes much. You're trying to focus on yourself, and he can't stop you shooting a 67 if you play well. It's not like any other sport. So, I don't think that changes much.

"I've spent a little bit of time with him at home, and the golf is there. He's hitting it well. He's chipping well. He's sharp. It's just the physical demand of getting around 72 holes here this week. That's probably the question mark. But the golf game is there."

Justin Thomas: "Nobody has a work ethic and determination like him. I've never seen anything like it in terms of setting your mind to something and kind of setting a goal for yourself and proving to yourself and everybody that you can do it than him.

"The days and weeks and months that he couldn't do anything and do the same thing every single day but would look at it as an opportunity to get better and get stronger and get